All pathological liars have a purpose, i.e., to decorate their
own person, to tell something interesting, and an ego motive is
always present. They all lie about something they wish to
possess or be.
[9] ``Ueber die pathologische Lugner,'' Charite-Annalen, 8, 1898.
Pp. 674-719.
Koppen offers three case studies: I. A man who had suffered
from many epileptic seizures came from a family in which there
was insanity. He gave himself many false titles, and from his
childhood pathological lying had been a prominent symptom. As an
example, when he married against his father's will, he at the
wedding read a false dispatch, pretending it to be
congratulations from his family. Koppen suggests that this
individual was incapable of meeting life as it really was and he
therefore wove a mass of phantasies. II. A young man charged
with grave falsifications. He had come from an epileptic family
and himself had slight attacks in childhood. He bore various
pathological stigmata. Koppen considered that the patient
believed his own stories about his rather superior education and
that in general his lies became delusions which influenced his
actions.
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